An elephant was killed in Assam, India after being shot by a villager for crossing through crop fields looking for food.
Look at this heartbreaking picture …
The poor elephant didn’t die from the gunshot immediately. The bullet had been soaked in acid and the animal eventually died from septic poisoning.
In the picture, you can see a man praying in front of the dead animal’s body to show respect.
Unfortunately, human-elephant conflicts are on the rise because deforestation is a real problem that the planet is facing.
Large numbers of trees are disappearing and the fastest rate of forest destruction has been in the past couple of centuries. About 15 billion trees are being cut down every year across the world and it’s not sustainable for the climate, for people, and especially for the animals.
Not only are forests beautiful, but they also provide food and shelter for so much of life on earth — including elephants.
As these amazing giants lose more of their habitat, they are forced to look for food elsewhere and start to explore new sources.
Most deforestation is done to clear land for the production of food. Natural forests are taken out to create agricultural land and it is done at an alarming pace and scale of destruction.
At Karmagawa and SaveTheReef, we’re heartbroken for this elephant that was just trying to live its life the only way it knew how. It wasn’t its fault that its food sources were dwindling and it was doing what it had to do to survive changes in the environment. We must keep speaking against deforestation so that animals around the world can have a safe home where they can thrive.
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What do you think about the senseless death of this poor elephant? Leave a comment below.
(Cover image: Jiri Foltyn/Shutterstock)